The present invention relates to the field of evacuation devices and, more particularly, to a personal descent apparatus designed to safely lower one person from a high elevation if emergency evacuation is needed.
Fires are known to be an inherent danger of tall buildings, and one of the primary design requirements of such buildings is the capability to rapidly evacuate occupants. However, it often occurs that evacuation is not possible for some occupants, particularly those on upper floors, as a result of damage to stairs and exits on the lower floors. If not rescued, these occupants often succumb as a result of smoke inhalation, burning or jumping to their deaths from a window.
Providing a safe means of escape from tall buildings has been the subject of much inventive energy and a long history of prior art exists, including U.S. Patents issued as long ago as 1860 and continually thereafter. However, there is not known to exist a descent device that is both easily portable and automatically operable.
Most of the devices disclosed are for permanent attachment to a building, many in clever or decorative ways, such as by being hidden in cornices (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 27,127) or under window sills (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 285,564). Many other of such devices are not permanently affixed to a building but are permanently deployed within a building for use when necessary. Such devices are employed by being attached to hooks, brackets or fixtures that are permanently affixed to the building for the specific purpose of the device.
All such devices consist of mechanical means for lowering a person from a window or a roof. They generally include levers, rods, gears, pulleys, winches or windlasses, springs, and the like, which cause the device to be heavy and often quite bulky. Accordingly, these devices are not portable, their use being limited to the location where they are deployed.
A number of U.S. Patents disclose such descent devices deployed on or within a building for use by occupants thereof, including: U.S. Pat. Nos. 199,461; U.S. Pat. No. 437,091; U.S. Pat. No. 696,931; U.S. Pat. No. 650,403; U.S. Pat. No. 991,768; U.S. Pat. No. 2,526,065; U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,963; U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,735; U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,339; U.S. Pat. No. 4,503,933; U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,981; U.S. Pat. No. 5,494,133; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,617.
Another limitation suffered by almost all such devices is the requirement of affirmative operation or control. It is necessary for the user to manually operate the device in one fashion or another in order to descend safely. It has been observed that, when faced with the decision whether to burn to death or jump from a high window, the average person""s concentration and manual dexterity diminish substantially and are not sufficient to enable effective operation of a mechanical device. Many of the prior art devices include such a requirement.
A small and portable descent device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,187, which is a travel bag fabricated from a flat rope that may be released and used to lower oneself from a high elevation. This device meets the first need of being easily portable, but it does not provide automatic operation. The rope must be manually released by the user operating a controlled release mechanism which allows the rope to pay out in a controlled fashion, an act which a person in high stress may not be able to accomplish. This device sufferers an additional and substantial deficiency in that the rope may burn or have its tensile strength weakened by fire or heat, and is therefore of questionable suitability in a fire situation.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that allows a person to safely descend from a high elevation under emergency conditions.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a small and personally portable descent apparatus that a user may easily carry on his/her person when entering high elevations.
It is a yet further object of the present invention to provide a descent apparatus that operates automatically and allows a user to descend simply by applying weight thereto, with no requirement of operation or control.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a reliable and durable descent apparatus that requires no maintenance.
It is a yet still further object of the present invention to provide a personal descent apparatus that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and acquire.
According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for use by a user for safely descending from a high elevation comprising: (a) a drum rotatably mounted on a mounting frame; (b) a body securing device for securing the mounting frame to the body of the user; and (c) a line wound around the drum having a first end attached to the drum and a second end for attachment to a fixed object at the high elevation; such that the user may conveniently use the device to safely descend from the high elevation by attaching the mounting frame to the user""s body and the second end of the line to the fixed object at the high elevation.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the mounting frame includes a housing for containing the drum.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the second end of the line includes an attachment device for attaching the line to the fixed object at the high elevation, the attachment device being an openable and closable clasp.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the body securing device includes a body attachable member for holding the body of the user, the body attachable member being a harness or a jacket.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the body securing device includes a body receiving member for receiving the body of the user.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the apparatus comprises a descent control device for controlling the rate of descent of the user.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the descent control device comprises an oil damper disposed in association with the drum for retarding rotation of the drum.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the descent control device is adjustable to vary the rate of descent of the user.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the apparatus comprises a generator driven by rotation of the drum for producing an electric current to power an indicator signal.
According to features in the described preferred embodiments the fixed object at the high elevation is a building or a structure.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.